


take me to the river

by Hyeyu



Series: aetate mirum [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - RPG setting, Disabled Character, Exhaustion, Grand Cleric!Oikawa, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mage!Iwaizumi, Magic Drainage, Physical Disability, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 22:26:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9683165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyeyu/pseuds/Hyeyu
Summary: The utter darkness is disconcerting, and he tries to lift a hand to brush it away. It barely rises off the bed he must be lying on before it trembles, quivers, falls.Before it could hit the mattress, something catches it - another hand, callused fingers rubbing his own.When Iwaizumi finally drifts back into consciousness, Oikawa is there to steady him.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't planning to store this on AO3 initially, given how short it is. But it _is_ still a scene in 'aetate mirium' and why not, right? The Adamantoise is shamelessly borrowed from the Final Fantasy series.
> 
> Originally posted to [Tumblr](http://hweiro.tumblr.com/post/154941791619/take-me-to-the-river-haikyuu-iwaizumioikawa).

The world is dark when Iwaizumi first comes to, no matter how many times he blinks, sluggish and disoriented. No, not dark - his eyelashes drag against something damp and heavy. A cloth then, draped over his eyes.

The utter darkness is disconcerting, and he tries to lift a hand to brush it away. It barely rises off the bed he must be lying on before it trembles, quivers, falls.

Before it could hit the mattress, something catches it - another hand, callused fingers rubbing his own. 

“Don’t waste your energy, Iwa-chan.” The voice is pitched low and quiet, so unlike Oikawa’s flippant cheeriness. “You need to recuperate.”

He parts his lips, wants to demand Oikawa tell him what happened, wants to ask if the grand cleric is alright. Nothing comes out though, despite his mind’s insistent pushing at his tongue - just a sound caught between a wheeze and a sigh, almost inaudible even in the quiet of wherever he was.

“Shhh.” Oikawa seems to have divined at least one of Iwaizumi’s questions nonetheless. “You drained yourself completely - your magic is almost completely tapped out, as is your energy. Yahaba-chan confirmed that your health isn’t in the critical range anymore though, so that’s a relief.”

Magic tapped out? Instinctively, Iwaizumi seeks out the core of his magic potential, but his fumbling attempts grasp at nothing - there is a void within where his magic power usually swirls. Even his carefully hoarded reserves, usually left untouched, are empty, and he starts to panic.

“Iwa-chan. Iwa-chan. _Hajime_. Calm down.” A hand on his torso; he gasps soundlessly, chest curving beneath the inconsequential weight as it flutters frantically for air. “ _Calm down._ Deep breaths, c'mon, Hajime, you can do this for me. Please? In…out. In….out. That’s it, nice and easy, in…out.”

Slowly, Iwaizumi breathes again, Oikawa’s hand grounding him even as his voice blankets him in a soothing assurance that everything would be fine. The mage aches all over, sunken like stone into the softness beneath him. Fatigue is an almost-tangible malaise soaked into his limbs, saturating them. He’s tired, too tired to so much as turn his head. Despite that, he doesn’t hurt - the pain is a dulled edge, hovering vaguely like a phantom behind the warm numbness that ensonced him.  The feel of this particular magic is familiar, even in Iwaizumi’s half-dazed state; ah, he thinks hazily, Oikawa must have evoked Sanctuary. 

That’s...not actually good? Oikawa absolutely hates using Sanctuary, always opting for the smaller-scale Renovatio whenever he could. For him to have casted and maintained the more demanding healing spell must mean Iwaizumi’s gone and done…something. He’s too tired to remember exactly what though.

Oikawa’s speaking again. “…shouldn’t take more than a couple of days; once you recover enough to manage sitting up, we can start dosing you with mana potions. That should expedite things.”

 _Okay,_ Iwaizumi tries to say, manages another of those half-sighs instead. Oikawa goes silent, his hands still massaging Iwaizumi’s own absent-mindedly in their grip. Then, something plops so very gently on top of Iwaizumi’s chest, resting there. 

“Please.” The sound is a ragged plea, muffled against the fabric of the blankets pulled over Iwaizumi. “Never do that again. Ever. I’m banning you from pulling this kind of stupid shit again, you hear me?”

Never do that again?…

“What the fuck were you even thinking? Who the fuck would take on a _fully-grown Adamantoise_ on his own?” Oikawa’s giggle is almost hysterical as he shifts his head. “You, apparently. Dear god, my boyfriend is an idiot with a death wish.”

Oh. A memory trickles in: the gargantuan creature had surprised their party when it had trampled into their path, roaring. It had been a lengthy battle, but one they had been on the edge of winning when the beast had unexpectedly slammed its massive girth into the ground. The seismic shift that rattled through the earth had thrown all of them but Iwaizumi off-balance, and the mage had been ready to wait for the rest to get back to their feet before he saw a giant leg lift, hovering ominously over Oikawa where he was struggling to stand, staff still outstretched as he doggedly upkept the Angelo shielding each of their forms.

The meteor bolt had bounced off the leather of the Adamantoise’s hoof, barely scratching the tough skin. But the monster had swung around, distracted from its original target, which was exactly what Iwaizumi had intended.

He hadn’t planned on it charging him though - thirty feet of armored rage and lethality thundering towards him, shaking the air with its furious bellow.

Even if he had still owned two good legs, Iwaizumi was definitely not going to outrun the monster in time. But it _had_ been heavily wounded...A quick glance at his party who were still scrambling to rise, and he made a snap decision.

Fingers flew lightning-fast, sketching out all the emblems he knew amplified magical power - _quw, uz, forca, qiangdu, kalig-on_ \- even as he yelled a spell into the oncoming dust-storm. A spear flickered into existence, swelled from big to bigger to an impossibly large size, crackling with magical energy as it hovered over the mage’s head.

The wooden prosthetic Iwaizumi used in lieu of his right leg clattered to the ground, the magic usually used to bind it to the mage redirected upwards. Without its support to brace his weight, the mage toppled after it, slamming hard against the dirt and stones. Still his frenzied chanting didn’t stop, eyes falling shut on their own volition as he forcibly channeled all the power he had at his disposal into the deadly projectile that still floated, unerring. 

He had only one shot before the Adamantoise was upon him. He intended to make it count. 

He can’t remember now if he had managed to even hurl the spear. But, considering Oikawa is ranting to him about it rather than being dead, he supposes he must have succeeded.

I take it back.“ Oikawa’s whisper is small and wretched. “I don’t want you out here with us anymore. Go back to Seijou and run your little shop.“ 

Too late for that now, Iwaizumi would tell him if his voice would only work. He’s seen the kind of threats Oikawa’s had to deal with when he’s on the road. He succeeded in walking away from it once - he can no longer do that, especially now that Oikawa is so much more than simply a childhood friend.

The weight shifts again, Oikawa readjusting his head. He’s listening to Iwaizumi’s heartbeat, the mage realizes as the grand cleric squeezes Iwaizumi’s hand in time with the steady rhythm. It’s strangely hypnotic, and exhaustion is a tide that still washes over Iwaizumi, submerging him as it tugs him back into the restful state of sleep.

Before he submits though, he strains until he manages to curl his fingers slightly around Oikawa’s. It’s the barest of movements, but his significant other would feel it, tight as his grip is.

He’s asleep before he registers Oikawa pressing a kiss to bruised knuckles.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! (⌒▽⌒)☆ Kudos and constructive feedback is, as always, much appreciated.


End file.
